Wednesday was a dramatic day for US soap opera star Freddie Smith both on screen and off.

On the day an episode aired showing his Days of Our Lives character discovering that his husband has slept with his ex-boyfriend, Smith was in an Ohio courtroom trying to avoid being sent to jail.

He succeeded.

A judge suspended Smith’s driver’s license for one year and ordered him to DUI school stemming from a car accident last October that left Smith’s now fiance seriously injured.

‘It was very selfish and I’m very sorry for doing it,’ Smith told 19 Action News after the sentencing. ‘Today was very nerve-racking and to hear all of the support from fans, friends and family has really helped me stay strong. I appreciate it.’

Last December, Smith entered pleas of guilty to charges of felony vehicular assault and misdemeanor driving under the influence.

The actor was visiting Ohio with girlfriend, actress Alyssa Tabit, when the 7 October accident occurred in Ashtabula County.

While Smith suffered only minor injuries, Tabit had to be airlifted to a local hospital after the single car crash.

Smith said he had fallen asleep while driving and his blood-alcohol level was .093, above Ohio’s legal limit of .08. Tabit is recovering from her injuries and wrote a letter to the judge in support of Smith.

‘She is doing absolutely fantastic,’ Smith said outside the courtroom. ‘She has a couple more weeks of physical therapy and she will be back good as new.’

While Tabit and Smith remain a couple, it remains to be seen if his TV character Sonny Kiriakis will stay with cheating husband Will Horton (Guy Wilson).

Episodes airing this week have Sonny finding out that Will cheated with Sonny’s ex-pro baseball player boyfriend who is profiled for a magazine.

All of this is happening as Sonny is in a hospital bed recovering from being brutally stabbed by one of his powerful uncle’s enemies.